Buoyant insulating garment



April 12, 1966 G. A. BARNIER 3,245,095

BUOYANT INSULATING GARMENT Filed Jan. 24, 1964 v \NV'ENTOR was GEORGES AMIE. BARNIER BYWW/M ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,245,095 BUOYANT INSULATING GARMENT Georges Aim Barnier, Pare Alexandria A-l,

Canues-Alpes-Maritimes, France Filed Jan. 24, 1964, Ser. No. 340,084

Claims priority, application France, Jan. 25, 1963, 7,169, Patent 1,345,455 8 Claims. (Cl. 9-331) This invention relates to insulating garments and more specifically to an insulating garment of the type which protects almost all the wearers body and which is particularly easy to don and remove by reason of the special outline cut of a section of the garment.

An insulating garment of this type, which may be intended, say, for protecting divers, skiers, airmen or Workers against environmental rigors, is in most cases a perfect fit and closely hugs the wearers body, covering most of it except for the face, the hands and the feet. A variety of different models exist, comprising one or more individual sections together with suitable closing means, with a view to finally providing a garment which insulates the wearers body in perfect fashion. However, the perfect fit referred to, the positions of the zippers or other closing means, and the nature of the material used for the garment (which may be elastic and relatively thick), all contribute to making the garment difiieult to don and remove and may even make outside assistance necessary for these operations.

It has, however, been discovered that an insulating garment of this type, comprising according to the invention a mobile portion whose front, middle and rear sections respectively constitute the breast, the hood and a portion of the back of the garment, :with uniting means for providing a permanent partial connection between said mobile portion and the rest of the garment, in conjunction with one or several manually operable complementary connecting means for detachably completing the integral assembly of said mobile portion to the remainder of the garment, enables the wearer, after he has unfastened the connections, to open up the mobile portion from the remainder of the garment, to slip into the latterwithout difiiculty, and to complete the final positioning of the garment by placing the mobile portion flat on his body and then securing it integrally to the rest of the garment with the aid of complementary means, or else to remove the garment by disengaging, at least through the space opened-up by the lifting of the mobile portion, the upper part of his chest, his head and his shoulders. The permanent connection between the mobile portion and the remainder of the garment is accomplished in the customary way, for instance by cutting the mobile portion into the garment at the time the same is manufactured, while exercising care not to detach said portion .completely, the latter remaining united to the rest of the garment over a certain length of its perimeter or being attached thereto by sewing, gluing or the like, the important thing being to obtain a permanent and partial connection that enables said mobile portion to be opened up sufiiciently from the remainder of the garment to enable the wearer to slip into the latter, or, conversely, to enable the head and shoulders to be disengaged to a degree sutficient to enable the rest of the garment to be removed.

Preferably, the complementary connection means are such as to permit establishing the removable connections referred to precedingly along the edges of a V. In this preferred form of embodiment of the invention, the breast section of the mobile portion may be shaped like a downwardly pointing V, with the removable connections providedalong the edges of-the V. In this spement being located at the back of the latter.

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cific form of embodiment, the permanent connection between the mobile portion and the remainder of the garment is provided on the rear of the mobile portion i.e. on the back of the garment.

These connections are obtained by known conventional means, preferably zippers.

It will manifestly be necessary in most cases to confer upon such connecting means the same insulating properties as those required of the remainder of the garment. For this reason, should it be necessary for the latter to be water-tight, recourse is had to closing means possess ing the required watertightness properties. For example, according to one specific feature of the garment of this invention, use is made of inflatable strips or of strips made of any convenient watertight and elastic material disposed between two identical parallel sealing edges.

According to a further feature of the garment of the present invention, and in a form of embodiment specifically intended for skin divers, the mobile portion of the garment may be formed by a double wall arrangement in the front and/or rear part of the garment, between which walls may be admitted a liq-uidof low density, air, or any other suitable gas whereby to form if need be a swim-bladder.

These and other features of the garment of this invention will become apparent from the following description of a watertight isothermal garment for skin divers, given by Way of a preferred but non-limitative application of said garment, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 shows in front elevation a watertight onepiece suit comprising, according to the present invention, .a mobile portion whose front breast section embodies a V-indent in this particular form of embodiment.

FIGURE 2 shows in side elevation the suit of FIG- URE 1.

FIGURE 3 shows how the wearer, as seen from the side, can displace the mobile portion of the suit whereby to disengage the suit from the top of his chest, his shoulders, his head and the upper part of his back.

FIGURE 4 shows in section a possible way of achieving waterti-ghtness of the closing means utilized for the suit of this invention.

FIGURE 5 shows in front elevation a suit according to the invention which, in this specific form of embodiment, comprises a mobile float-like portion and comprises in addition, according to a further advantageous feature, appendices acting as fins attached to the legs of the suit and intended to facilitate swimming.

FIGURE 6 is a side view of the suit of FIGURE 5, and

FIGURE 7 is a section of the unit of FIGURE 5 taken through a plane at chest level. In all the figures, like parts are designated by like numerals.

Referring first to FIGURE 1 for a front view and to FIGURE 2 for a side view of the one-piece suit, it may be seen that the suit 1 comprises in accordance with the invention a mobile portion 2 whose front section 2a forms the breast, its middle section 2b the hood and its rear section 2c the back of the suit, the latter not being shown in FIGURE 1.

In this particular form of embodiment of the suit of the invention, the front section 2a of the mobile portion -2 is shaped substantially as a V, the divergence of whose edges extends as far as the back of said mobile portion, the complementary securing means for detachably connecting said portion to the remainder of the garment being disposed along the edges of the V and consisting, for instance, of two zippers 3 and 3 represented by fish bone lines on the figures, the permanent connection between the mobile portion and the remainder of the gar- FIGURE 3 shows how a swimmer wearing the suit of the invention can, by throwing off backwards the mobile portion 2, disengage the suit from the top of his breast, his head, his shoulders and the top of his back and then divest himself with ease of his suit.

Reference is next had to FIGURE 4, which shows in section a method of perfecting the tightness of the connection, in accordance with a; specific feature of the invention, by using for each of the closures 3 and 3', duplex closure means such as 4 and 5 (shown in section in FIG- URE 4), in conjunction with an insulating strip 6 interposed there-between.

I In the example illustrated, the closures shown at 4 and 5 are of the zipper type, being constituted by the cooperation of two elements 4m and 421, on the one hand, and 5m and Sit on the other, the elements designated by reference numerals followed by the subscript in being inte gral with the mobile portion 2, while the numerals followed by the subscript n denote elements integral with the remainder of the garment 1.

The sealing strip 6 may be made of a foam or cellular material possessing the necessary sealing qualities, or may consist of a pneumatic seal filled with liquid or gas.

'FIGURES 5 and 6 show, in front and side views, the mobile portion of the garment of this invention, in accordance with which said mobile portion 7 comprises a double wall into which an inflating fluid can be introduced through a tube 9, the inflation being carried out by the swimmer, either by blowing directly into the tube 9, or by means of a mechanical pumping system or air bottles.

Subsidiarily, it will be noted that the air reserve constituted thus may, in case of need, prove a valuable life supporting factor for the wearer of such a garment.

Advantageously, said double wall involves both the front section 7a and the rear section 7c of mobile portion 7, the two bladders being interconnected through ducts (not shown) running over the shoulders and enabling the pressure to be equalized therein.

An adjustable pressure relief valve (not shown), together with calibrated valves '10 secured, say, one in front and the other at the back, to the base of the mobile portion, provide a high degree of reliability for the system.

Said pressure relief valve (not shown), which is calibrated and adjustable, enables the pressure of the air in the pouches to be balanced against the underwater pressure, and also enables compensation to be made for the weight of the skin diver, both for normal swimming and deep diving, without any need for the wearer to make such compensations by means of the weights attached to his ballast belt.

This system further permits preventing the skin diver from descending to dangerous depths by the additional provision of suitable means, well known per se, for automatically inflating the bladders.

The front and rear bladders, 7a and 7c respectively, are shown in horizontal section at breast level on FIG- UR-E 7, which figure also shows, by way of indication, the double zippers 4 and 5, and 4 and 5, which are of the type shown on FIGURE 4 and enable the mobile portion to be detachably and tightly joined to the rest of the garment.

By Way of alternative forms of embodiment of the garment of this invention, it may be advantageous to provide one or several valves such as the valves Hand 8 in FIGURE 6', positioned respectively at the back of the hood and on the back section of the mobile portion, in the middle of the wearers back, in order to permit automatic evacuation of any air bubbles that may form between the wearers skin and the garment as a result of the underwater pressure.

Sealing strips 12 (see FIGURES 5 and 6) may also be positioned around the ends of the sleeves and legs of the garment in order to improve watertightness.

By way of an accessory feature of the garment of this invention, it may be useful to provide fins 13 (FIGURES 5 and 6) integral with the legs of the garment whereby to constitute auxiliary propulsion means for increasing the skin divers mobility in the water.

While there has been shown and described, the presently preferred embodiment of the insulating garment of this inveniton, it will be well understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made in this embodiment. Of course, it will be understood that the specific shape imparted to the sections comprising the mobile portion of the garment, as for instance the downwardly pointing triangular shape of the breast section, as well as the relative areas of these sections, may be modified without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention provided that said mobile portion enables both sides of the head, the shoulders and the upper arms to be disengaged. Similarly, modifications may be made to the closure means and to the seals, and these closures and seals, together with certain portions of the garment, may be fitted detachably or nonde'tachably, while the air bladders may be constituted by hollow or partitioned coils or by removable pouches, either to suit specific requirements or for convenience considerations. It is, therefore, to be understood that the description hereinbefore set forth is not to be considered a limitation of the inveniton, but that changes may be made within the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An insulating garment protecting at least the torso of the wearers body comprising, in combination, a mobile portion whose front, middle and back sections respective'ly form the breast section, the shoulder and neck opening section, and a fraction of the back section of the garment, the said front breast section of said mobile portion extending downwardly and including a portion of the stomach of the wearer and said middle shoulder section of said mobile portion extending outwardly to include substantially all the top of the shoulders, means for permanently providing a partial connection on the back of the garment between said mobile portion and the remainder of the suit, and manually operable complementary connecting means disposed substantially along the free edges of the said mobile portion and along the edges of the remainder of the garment adjacent to the said free edges in order to detachably and integrally join said mobile portion to the remainder of the garment.

2. An insulating garment as claimed in claim 1 wherein said front section of said mobile portion is V-shaped and extending downwardly from the ends of the shoulders to a point slightly below the stomach of the wearer.

3. A garment as claimed in claim 1 wherein said manually operable complementary connecting means are of the zipper type.

4. A watertight suit protecting at least the torso of the Wearers body comprising, in combination, a mobile portion whose front, middle and back sections respectively form the breast section, the shoulder and neck opening section, and a fraction of the back section of the suit, the said front breast section of said mobile portion extending downwardly and including a portion of the stomach of the wearer and said middle shoulder section of said mobile portion extending outwardly to include substantially all the top of the shoulders, means for permanently providing a partial connection on the back of the suit between said mobile portion and the remainder of the suit, at least one manually operable complementary connecting means disposed substantially along the free edges of the said mobile portion and along the edges of the remainder of the suit adjacent to said free edges in order to detachably and integrally join said mobile portion to the remainder of said suit, and means in cooperation with said manually operable complementary connecting means to effect a complete and watertight assembly oi said mobile portion with the remainder of said suit.

5. A watertight suit as claimed in claim 4 wherein said manually operable complementary connecting means comprise duplex closure means in conjunction with sealing strips interposed therebetween to effect a complete and watertight assembly.

6. A watertight suit as claimed in claim '5 wherein said sealing strips are inflatable,

7. A watertight suit protecting at least the torso of the wearers body comprising, in combination, a mobile portion whose front, middle and back sections respectively form the breast section, the shoulder and hood section, and a fraction of the back section of the suit, said mobile portion comprising a plurality of interconnecting bladders adapted to be filled with a suitable material, whereby said bladders act as a float means, means for permanently providing a partial connection on the back of the suit between said mobile portion and the remainder of the suit, at least one manually operable complementary connecting means disposed substantially along the free edges of the said mobile portion and along the edges of the remainder of the suit adjacent to said free edges in order to detachably and integrally join said mobile portion to the remainder of said suit, andmeans in cooperation with said manually operable complementary connecting means to effect a complete and watertight assembly of said mobile portion with the remainder of said suit.

8. A watertight one-piece suit as claimed in claim 7, wherein said float means are formed in the front and back sections of said mobile portion and intercommunicat-e through at least one duct running over at least one shoulder.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS MILTON BUCHLER, Primary Examiner.

FERGUS S. MIDDLETON, Examiner.

A. E. CORRIGAN, Assistant Examiner. 

7. A WATERTIGHT SUIT PROTECTING AT LEAST THE TORSO OF THE WEARER''S BODY COMPRISNG, IN COMBINATION, A MOBILE PORTION WHOSE FRONT, MIDDLE AND BACK SECTIONS RESPECTIVELY FORM THE BREAST SECTION, THE SHOULDER AND HOOD SECTION, AND A FRACTION OF THE BACK SECTION OF THE SUIT, SAID MOBILE PORTION COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF INTERCONNECTING BLADDERS ADAPTED TO BE FILLED WITH A SUITABLE MATERIAL, WHEREBY SAID BLADDERS ACT AS A FLOAT MEANS, MEANS FOR PERMANENTLY PROVIDING A PARTIAL CONNECTION ON THE BACK OF THE SUIT BETWEEN SAID MOBILE PORTION AND THE REMAINDER OF THE SUIT, AT LEAST ONE MANUALLY OPERABLE COMPLEMENTARY CONNECTING MEANS DISPOSED SUBSTANTIALLY ALONG THE FREE EDGES OF THE SAID MOBILE PORTION AND ALONG THE EDGES OF THE RE- 